Showdown in the pits

Scan page 16

IHE National Union of Mine- colliery in Scotland has now scarcely bothers to hide it any id pickets spread th =UND-:00%!

End-of-the-month donations this week come to £143.90; so the September fund closes at £1,096.90. But a word of warning: it took 5 weeks to collect this, and we were helped by the £200+ collection at In October we'll only have four weeks. There's sponsored events which will help us: the Brighton swim by Pete Firmin (61); and Matthew Jones will be cycling from Coventry to Party Conference.

But all groups will need to double their efforts to keep our October fund on target. The grand total of fund contributions made in August, September and October will be published at our October 30 AGM. Some groups have already raised more than 100% of their targets, but who will raise the most? If we can find a cup bolted to a table somewhere, it will be presented to 'Fund-raiser-group-of-1983' at the AGM.

Meanwhile, we have received the following letter from Patrick spilling, printed in full below. The Fund Column will be printing its considered reply next week. What do readers think?

"Articles appearing in Socialist Organiser under the heading Fund have suggested that Patrick Spilling would attend and report on a so-called sponsored swim by a Pete Firmin (various ages). Not since Peter Tatchell was accused of attending the Gay Olympics has such an orchesirated campaign of lies and vilification been run. If Pete Firmin (63) tras being sponsored one way only from Brighton there might be some perit in considering sponsorship, but seeing as he has every intention of eturning to shore I cannot see any purpose in throwing good money Ifter bad by encouraging him. Nor could any sëlf-respecting reporter be sked to cover this event without a substantial proportion of the money oing to cover my expenses. If Socialist Organiser does not stop giving impression Patrick Spilling will be present land therefore inducing vast mass of the population to go to Brighton out of season) I shall forced to join forces with Vanessa Redgrave and pursue you through very court in the land. Except Brighton. Spilling!"

Thanks this week to: Kevin Feintuck, £20; Bas Hardy, £20; Sarah iryant, £10; Cardiff supporters, £35; Brent supporters, £28.90; Alan denith, Nottingham, £10; Garth Frankland, £5; Leeds supporters, £15.

Mudied 16. Lundon N8. Printed by East End Oftset (TU). Registered as a newspaper at the GPO. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the SOA. porkers has called a national inference for October 21 to disass ways of resisting pit closurB. Miners' president Arthur argill said that the conference rould 'unite this union in a ight back against the Coal foard and the Government's iolicy of closing our pits and ising our jobs" : The two-week strike against mundonnico st Manitanholl the Conference on September 17. Natch this space. 1720 WHEEL colliery in Scotland has now been given official backing by the NUM. And as the Yorkshire miners whose strike paralysed the Yorkshire coalfield for three weeks go back to work, pending an inquiry, it is clear that battlelines are being drawn for a stand-up fight in the coalfields.

More and more miners are well aware that the National Coal Board does have plans for extensive pit closures. The NCB scarcely bothers any more.

The three-week Yorkshire strike showed what tremendous militancy the miners are still capable of showing. A miner at Dodworth colliery was sacked for allegedly punching an overman and then given a job at another colliery, which he refused.

To get him his original job back, Dodsworth miners struck Group August & Sept Glasgow 20.50 Edinburgh 26.00 Liverpool 40.00 Mancheste 101.00 Rochdale 33.00 Stockport 15.00 Wirral 20.75 Durham 11.85 Halifax 13.20 Harrogate 14.50 Huddersfie Hull 38.00 Leeds 32.50 Leicester 15.75 Sheffield 45.70 York 10.00 Birmingham 65.00 Coventry 166.10 Northampto 10.00 Nottingham 53.90 Stoke 23.40 Basingstoke 1.50 Oxford 108.24 Cardiff 165.47 NW London •53.30 Hackney Haringey 58.00 Houns ow 28.25 İslington 88.50 S/E London 48.60 E London 44.50 Southwark™ 79.50 Others 379.94 Donations to: 214, Sickert Court, London N1 2SY. nACI id pickets spread the strike throughout the Yorkshire coalfield. 14,000 miners from 16 pits came out, stopping the area.

They have now gone back to work, on the orders of the Yorkshire area council of the NUM, to await the results of an inquiry into the alleged assault.

The new NCB chief, 'Butcher' MacGregor, fancies himself as the Michael Edwardes of the coalfields. The Scottish area of the NCB has given notice to 300 miners at Killoch colliery that it will sack them in two weeks if their production does not increase!

It is plain that on both sides the mood for a clash is building up.

Meanwhile the NUM executive has made the strike by 1500 Monktonhall miners against redundancies official.

From Yorkshire, John Douglas reports.

AFTER a meeting on Saturday of the Yorkshire Area Council which decided by 66 votes to 9 to call for a return to work by the strikers in the Barnsley coalfield, the branch committee of Dodworth pit today recommended a return to work on the basis of an enquiry to be set up, binding on both sides, regarding the case of George* Marsh.

The meeting held today in Dodworth decided by a large majority to accept the committee's recommendation and will return to work tomorrow.

A member of the strike committee said: "We were fighting a battle on our own, without the support of the Yorkshire Area Council. We have had the army but not the generals."

George Marsh will sign on at Barrow Colliery, but will be suspended on full pay. The inquiry wll be binding on all parties, and is expected to start in a few days time.

- Wilis NORMAN SENT 1/S...

The JOB, WE WILL Party • Tony Benn explained why Heffer.

make Party policy."

On page 2 we carry the full text of Eric Heffer's important eight-point plan to revitalise the Labour 11 am, Embankment, London •ORL

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Social SUPPORT'S REORGE MARSH

ARON Monk

(BRENT HUTHORNY! by Ges

UND MARC OC1